C40 Blog

Tokyo’s Shinagawa Project On Its Way to Becoming Climate Positive

The former site of the Japan Railway East (JR East) Shinagawa Depot Railway Yard in Tokyo – known as the “Shinagawa Project” – has been accepted into C40’s Climate Positive Development Program. Shinagawa joins 17 other projects around the world that are aiming to meet a ‘climate positive’ emissions target of net-negative operational greenhouse gas emissions.

The Shinagawa Project is a 13-hectare development located in the center of Tokyo that presents a unique development opportunity. Once complete, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government and JR East hope the site will become a beacon for leading companies and talented professionals from around the globe, a place where new businesses are born and cultural trends created. The Shinagawa Project also aims to serve as a testing ground for smart grid technologies, fuel cells, recycling, renewable energy and cutting-edge measures in buildings and transportation. Through its ambitious goals, in the true model of Climate Positive developments, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government sees this project as greatly helping to further advance their policy and programs toward a low carbon city.

“In order to make The Shinagawa Project a truly global model of how to plan and implement advanced climate measures, it is crucial to learn from best practices in other cities," said Masahiko Endo, Director General of Tokyo Metropolitan Government’s Bureau of Environment. "We are eager to join the Climate Positive Development Program to exchange knowledge and experiences with other state of the art projects and cities around the globe.”

“Shinagawa’s participation in the Climate Positive Development Program is a testament to the role that cities and the private sector can play in affecting real, positive urban change,” said Mark Watts, C40 Executive Director. “I applaud Tokyo and JR East’s dedication to creating and delivering innovative solutions to climate change. These are exactly the kinds of impressive actions that show how cities are delivering on the commitments made in Paris during the COP 21 conference.”

The Climate Positive Development Program was created to meet the pressing dual challenges of rapid urbanization and climate change. Part of the C40’s Sustainable Communities Initiative, the Program aims to create large-scale models and global good-practice examples of urban development that help mitigate climate change by reducing carbon emissions in an economically sustainable manner.

Click here to learn more about the Shinagawa Project.
Click here to learn about projects involved in the Climate Positive Development Program, or follow the Program on Twitter @C40ClimPositive.
Click here to read the press release from the Tokyo Metropolitan Government.
Click here to read Governor Yoichi Masuzoe’s speech.